this parallel-shaft speed reducer gear is one of the largest nanomechanical devices ever modeled in atomic detail.
This is just a few examples of the limitless possibilities that nanotechnology can offer. We have the resources, all we need is the political support and the funding and we all can have these devices in the next 10 years.
The below is a visual depicting mini space shuttles like nanobots going through the blood stream to attack cancer and other once thought of as "incurable" diseases. This among other inventions are what is possible with nanotechnology. The possibilities are endless, nanotechnology has benefits in medicine, manufacturing, and everyday life. The nanobots that could be created could reduce the size of telephone and electrical wires. This alone would change our society as a whole. Cars could be made smaller, wires would be more efficient and gone would be the unsightly telephone poles that litter the sides of our roads.
The benefit of smaller, almost minuscule electrical wires is immediately evident, but if you were to imagine the possibilities in the medical field with nanobots... your mind could wander for hours. From curing cancer and AIDS to helping understand the body further, the medical possibilities from nanotechnology is truly limitless. "Nanotechnology is used in medicine. In the future, nanotech research will allow medical equipment to be made more inexpensively. It will help improve accuracy in diagnosing medical problems. Tiny, inexpensive sensors and implants will provide both automated monitoring and semiautomatic treatment. Company leaders exploring nanotech in the medical world include Nanospectra Biosciences, Hitachi, Dow Chemical, and Merck, as well as Abbot Laboratories, Beckman, Nanoprobes, and American Pharmaceutical Partners" (http://www.nanotechcompanies.us/industries.htm).
This is just an example a nanotube which would revolutionize the way we think about electricity and conduction.
Nanotechnology manufacturing has a promise of producing new materials a hundred times stronger than steel, and more efficient and cheaper to produce as compared to the existing production techniques.
Molecular manufacturing would greatly reduce water requirements, and also cheaply run greenhouses would be a means of saving water, land, and food.
The efficient and inexpensive generation of electricity, using solar and thermal power, will make electric power available to basically everyone in the world.
Faster, cheaper, and more powerful computers will be available that could help improve information and communication systems even in the remotest areas.
Manufacturing of new technologies will be self - contained and clean, and will have less of an environmental impact. 5.
Cheap and advanced equipment for medical research and health care will make improved medicine widely available. It will be feasible to restore human organ engineered tissue while simple products will greatly reduce infectious diseases prevailing in many parts of the world.
The stakeholders — manufacturers, salesmen, and marketing agencies — will have to revise their investment plans to survive involving tens of trillions of dollars spent on everything from basic necessities to communication devices, recreation, and our environment. Huge monopolies, command over unprecedented wealth, and control of employment and product prices.
Criminals and terrorists equipped with stronger, more powerful, and more compact devices can cause unimaginable harm to society.
Deadly chemical and biological weapons with remote - control devices will be easier to conceal.
Black market could flourish.
The government agencies could use supercomputers for constant surveillance that could lead to abuse of individual freedom.
From the military point of view, nanotechnology weapons are more dangerous then nuclear weapons and, therefore, could further destabilize the world. (http://pakobserver.net/200805/18/Articles03.asp)
Distribution of Health-Related Patents by Continent
When we look at the distribution of health-related patents, by continent (shown in Figure 4), we see little separating Europe (36.7%), North America (34.2%) and Asia (28.8%). The large involvement of Asia suggests that nanotechnology may be the first widespread technology in which Asian countries have a foundational role. Competition, arising from a relatively evenly distribution of patents across the three continents will probably lead to a more rapid development of nanotechnology but may do little for partnership outside these regions. Few or no patents are held in Oceania (0.2%) South America (0.1%) and Africa (0%). This furthers our earlier claims that a ‘nano-divide’ may exist within the developing world highlighting the continental divide in health-related nanotechnology patenting.
Viral Engineering - The Precursor to Nanotechnology.
Viruses have been used for years and years now because of their simple and easily changeable genome. The possibilities are limitless for viruses, from brain killing viruses, to super viruses that can kill everyone. Here are the many benefits that viruses offer for our society today:
For fire ants that damage our crops and electrical equipment, there’s a virus that can combat those pests. According to the USDA:
“This pest's massive colonies can cause severe economic problems from crop losses, damage to farm and electrical equipment, and accelerated soil erosion. They also pose a severe threat to humans and livestock vulnerable to the ants' stinging attacks. A virus technology with potential to control red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) is available for licensing from the Agricultural Research Service. In the laboratory, SINV-1 has proven to be both self-sustaining and transmissible. Once introduced, it can eliminate a colony within two to three months. That's why the Gainesville researchers think it has potential for cultivation and development in the lab into a viable biopesticide for controlling S. invicta.” Obviously, farmers being able to use this virus has an extreme advantage over those who don’t. The viral treatment is a one stop and go treatment for the pesky fire ants, and the use of this viral technology has kept the ability of our farmers to maintain at a high level.
However, plants and farmers aside, the bleak truth is that, “today more than a quarter of all deaths worldwide — 15 million each year — are due to infectious diseases. These include 4 million from respiratory infections, 3 million from HIV/AIDS, and 2 million from waterborne diseases such as cholera. This is a continuing and intolerable holocaust that, while sparing no class, strikes hardest at the weak, the impoverished, and the young.
“President Bush's plan to spend $7.1 billion on this threat which was reduced to $2.3 billion by Congress is not nearly enough for a threat that could easily cost hundreds of billions of dollars to the US alone if it materialized, not to mention the damages to the rest of the world. $2.3 billion is just $153 per person who WILL die this year due to infectious diseases” (Biosheild). This is the reason why viral and nanotechnology is so important for our future as a human race. Money is finite and the research needs to be done now, before there are no more people to save.
One of these new improvements in viral technology is the invention of chimeric organisms. “Chimeric organisms are extremely useful in genetic and medical research, and are quite widespread. Commercialized chimeras are also increasingly common. Some of these could have tremendous value. To given just example, one chimeric organism - a combination of the common cold and the polio virus - has shown great promise in curing brain cancer. Similar combinations with HIV show promise for other diseases. This is very mature technology and the required expertise can be found throughout the world.
Although it may not seem particularly wise to combine lethal pathogens with the common cold, a sufferer of some terminal condition which might be cured by a chimera might see the situation a bit differently. In any event, it is certainly the case that the scientific community takes great precautions with this research. Everyone is aware of the danger and these researchers have the best of intentions” (ZEKA).
A huge invention that interests me as a scientist is the fact that cancer killing viruses have been found to be effective and useful in the fight against cancer. The study is as follows: “Cancer-killing potential of the newly discovered Seneca Valley Virus-001 in normal and tumor cell lines. They also tested the virus in human blood to assess whether it would be suitable for intravenous delivery. The researchers evaluated the safety and efficacy of the virus in mice with tumors derived from human small-cell lung cancer and childhood eye cancer cell lines. The Seneca Valley Virus was more effective at killing the lung and eye cancer cell lines than the normal cells, and the virus was not inhibited in the blood. Among mice treated with the virus, there was a complete response in all the mice with lung cancer tumors and in the majority of those with eye cancer tumors. "The data in this report suggest that [the Seneca Valley Virus] may overcome many of the challenges faced by traditional therapies and other [cancer-killing] viruses," the authors write. This research was published October 30, 2007 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute” (Cancer-Killing Virus Shows Promise as Metastatic Cancer Treatment)
“New findings show that a specialized virus with the ability to reproduce its tumor-killing genes can selectively target tumors in the brains of mice and eliminate them. Healthy brain tissue remained virtually untouched, according to a Feb. 20 report in The Journal of Neuroscience. With more research, the technique could one day offer a novel way of treating brain cancer in humans. "Most importantly, this study finds that the virus can penetrate into the brain, where it even reaches cells that have migrated away from the main tumor,"
The virus did not target normal mouse tissue or non-cancerous human brain cells transplanted into the mouse brain, the team found. They speculated that, unlike those in healthy brain tissue, blood vessels within brain tumors may leak, allowing the virus to cross the usually impenetrable protective barrier around the brain. The virus was equally effective in destroying tissue from cancers that start in the breast or lung and spread to the brain--the two cancers most likely to metastasize to the brain--and targeted tumors at different sites throughout the body. Each year in the United States, more than 20,000 new cases of brain or nervous system cancers are diagnosed, according to the National Cancer Institute” (Cancer-Killing Virus Shows Promise as Metastatic Cancer Treatment).
Going past the direct medical applications of viruses, research being done on many viruses can direct us to new cures and methods of viral engineering, and overall lead to a better society. “The researchers solved the three-dimensional structure of the virus particle, which is only 0.0001 mm in diameter, using electron tomography and computational methods. The newly determined virus structure also serves as a model for the other bunyaviruses” (Science Daily). These bunyaviruses are negatively stranded RNA viruses that can occasionally affect humans. “Recent research surprisingly revealed that the viral membrane proteins protruding as spikes from the Uukuniemi virus surface changed their shape in an acidic environment. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the mechanism whereby influenza and dengue viruses enter their host cells. The observation helps to explain how bunyaviruses infect their host cells.
The Uukuniemi virus was first isolated in the village of Uukuniemi, Finland in the early '60s. Since then, it has proven to be an excellent model virus. Not being a human pathogen, the Uukuniemi virus is safe to work with, and yet it is very similar to many pathogenic bunyaviruses. The Bunyaviridae viral family comprises more than 300 members and they are found worldwide. Many members of the family cause serious disease, such as hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis, for which no vaccines are available yet. Most of the bunyaviruses are transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks. The exception is hantaviruses, which belong to the Bunyaviridae family, and which are spread by voles and other rodents. The findings were published in PNAS on 12 February, 2008” (Uukuniemi Virus Helps To Explain The Infection Mechanism Of Bunyaviruses).
Studies on viruses can also shed some light on the viruses of the past and note how they have developed over the years. As history is integral in knowing the future, a virus’s history is important in knowing how it will mutate and change in the future. “In the study researchers from Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, and the University of Leuven, Belgium analyzed skin swabs taken from the lesions of infected WWBs and identified a novel virus exhibiting properties of both the Papillomaviridae and Polyomaviridae family. They have designated this new prototype the bandicoot papillomatosis carcinomatosis virus type 1 (BPCV1). BPCV1 may represent the first member of a novel virus family, descended from a common ancestor of the papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses recognized today," say the researchers. "The discovery of the virus could have implications for the current taxonomic classification of Papillomaviridae and Polyomaviridae and can provide further insight into the evolution of these ancient virus families” (Novel Virus Identified In Endangered Species May Represent Evolution Of Two Major Virus Families)
Finally, developments in viruses have uncovered an interesting and disturbing trend that links obesity and a virus. “Scientists are reporting new evidence that infection with a common virus may be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic sweeping through the United States and other countries. In laboratory experiments they showed that infection with human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), long recognized as a cause of respiratory and eye infections in humans, transforms adult stem cells obtained from fat tissue into fat cells. Stem cells not exposed to the virus, in contrast, were unchanged. In addition, the study reported identification of a specific gene in the virus that appears to be involved in this obesity-promoting effect. The findings, which could lead to a vaccine or antiviral medication to help fight viral obesity in the future, were presented at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. "We’re not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections," says study presenter Magdalena Pasarica, M.D., Ph.D., of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University” (Common Virus May Contribute To Obesity In Some People).
“Traditionally, such DNA insertions have been carried out using viruses that have a natural ability to penetrate the cell and insert segments of DNA into the nucleus. But these viruses can sometimes have dangerous side effects, and have been responsible for deaths in some early gene-therapy trials.
"We're working on polymers that could deliver DNA as efficiently as viruses, that could put a DNA strand wherever you want, without the safety problems of viruses," Langer says. In addition, they could be cheaper and easier to manufacture” (Biomedical Engineering Challenges Of The Next Century) This is what the future can bring regarding viruses and nanotechnology, however with every benefit there is a downfall, and now we will outline the pitfalls in viral technology.
The new realities of terrorism and suicide bombers pull us one step further. How would we react to the devastation caused by a virus or bacterium or other pathogen unleashed not by the forces of nature, but intentionally by man?
No intelligence agency, no matter how astute, and no military, no matter how powerful and dedicated, can assure that a small terrorist group using readily available equipment in a small and apparently innocuous setting cannot mount a first-order biological attack. With the rapid advancements in technology, we are rapidly moving from having to worry about state-based biological programs to smaller terrorist-based biological programs.
There are dark rumors of other super-chimeras as well. In particular, it's believed that both the Russians and the Americans have veePox: a combination of smallpox and Venezuelan encephalitis. This chimera is believed to combine the pathogenic qualities of both viruses, thus rendering it universally fatal. What happens if such a virus were to escape by accident? What happens if a terrorist group gets such a virus and sprays it on a major city?
As a result new viruses such as HIV and Ebola appeared, for which there was no cure. In addition, old diseases silently evolved resistance to drugs and became more menacing. This evolution was greatly aided by over-prescription of antibiotics by physicians and the increasingly compromised immune systems in individuals, providing millions of ideal genetic recombination labs for mutating viruses and bacteria. Very quickly mankind's defenses against disease began to weaken. For example, quinine is now totally ineffective against malaria - as are a host of other drugs that once provided protection. There exists in the world today un-treatable malaria, a situation not seen in two centuries
This is just a few examples of the limitless possibilities that nanotechnology can offer. We have the resources, all we need is the political support and the funding and we all can have these devices in the next 10 years.
The below is a visual depicting mini space shuttles like nanobots going through the blood stream to attack cancer and other once thought of as "incurable" diseases. This among other inventions are what is possible with nanotechnology. The possibilities are endless, nanotechnology has benefits in medicine, manufacturing, and everyday life. The nanobots that could be created could reduce the size of telephone and electrical wires. This alone would change our society as a whole. Cars could be made smaller, wires would be more efficient and gone would be the unsightly telephone poles that litter the sides of our roads.
(http://electronicdesign.com/Files/29/12817/Figure_02.jpg)
Benefits of Nanotechnology
Detrimental Effects of Nanotechnology
Deadly chemical and biological weapons with remote - control devices will be easier to conceal.
Distribution of Health-Related Patents by Continent
When we look at the distribution of health-related patents, by continent (shown in Figure 4), we see little separating Europe (36.7%), North America (34.2%) and Asia (28.8%). The large involvement of Asia suggests that nanotechnology may be the first widespread technology in which Asian countries have a foundational role. Competition, arising from a relatively evenly distribution of patents across the three continents will probably lead to a more rapid development of nanotechnology but may do little for partnership outside these regions. Few or no patents are held in Oceania (0.2%) South America (0.1%) and Africa (0%). This furthers our earlier claims that a ‘nano-divide’ may exist within the developing world highlighting the continental divide in health-related nanotechnology patenting.. Global distribution of nanotechnology health-related patent share, by region.
(http://www.azonano.com/Details.asp?ArticleID=1429)
VIRUS
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/630244/virus/32746/The-cycle-of-infection
Check out this video to learn the basics about the life cycle of a virus
A Graphic of a Virus
Viral Engineering - The Precursor to Nanotechnology.
Viruses have been used for years and years now because of their simple and easily changeable genome. The possibilities are limitless for viruses, from brain killing viruses, to super viruses that can kill everyone. Here are the many benefits that viruses offer for our society today:
For fire ants that damage our crops and electrical equipment, there’s a virus that can combat those pests. According to the USDA:
“This pest's massive colonies can cause severe economic problems from crop losses, damage to farm and electrical equipment, and accelerated soil erosion. They also pose a severe threat to humans and livestock vulnerable to the ants' stinging attacks. A virus technology with potential to control red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) is available for licensing from the Agricultural Research Service. In the laboratory, SINV-1 has proven to be both self-sustaining and transmissible. Once introduced, it can eliminate a colony within two to three months. That's why the Gainesville researchers think it has potential for cultivation and development in the lab into a viable biopesticide for controlling S. invicta.” Obviously, farmers being able to use this virus has an extreme advantage over those who don’t. The viral treatment is a one stop and go treatment for the pesky fire ants, and the use of this viral technology has kept the ability of our farmers to maintain at a high level.
However, plants and farmers aside, the bleak truth is that, “today more than a quarter of all deaths worldwide — 15 million each year — are due to infectious diseases. These include 4 million from respiratory infections, 3 million from HIV/AIDS, and 2 million from waterborne diseases such as cholera. This is a continuing and intolerable holocaust that, while sparing no class, strikes hardest at the weak, the impoverished, and the young.
“President Bush's plan to spend $7.1 billion on this threat which was reduced to $2.3 billion by Congress is not nearly enough for a threat that could easily cost hundreds of billions of dollars to the US alone if it materialized, not to mention the damages to the rest of the world. $2.3 billion is just $153 per person who WILL die this year due to infectious diseases” (Biosheild). This is the reason why viral and nanotechnology is so important for our future as a human race. Money is finite and the research needs to be done now, before there are no more people to save.
One of these new improvements in viral technology is the invention of chimeric organisms. “Chimeric organisms are extremely useful in genetic and medical research, and are quite widespread. Commercialized chimeras are also increasingly common. Some of these could have tremendous value. To given just example, one chimeric organism - a combination of the common cold and the polio virus - has shown great promise in curing brain cancer. Similar combinations with HIV show promise for other diseases. This is very mature technology and the required expertise can be found throughout the world.
Although it may not seem particularly wise to combine lethal pathogens with the common cold, a sufferer of some terminal condition which might be cured by a chimera might see the situation a bit differently. In any event, it is certainly the case that the scientific community takes great precautions with this research. Everyone is aware of the danger and these researchers have the best of intentions” (ZEKA).
A huge invention that interests me as a scientist is the fact that cancer killing viruses have been found to be effective and useful in the fight against cancer. The study is as follows: “Cancer-killing potential of the newly discovered Seneca Valley Virus-001 in normal and tumor cell lines. They also tested the virus in human blood to assess whether it would be suitable for intravenous delivery. The researchers evaluated the safety and efficacy of the virus in mice with tumors derived from human small-cell lung cancer and childhood eye cancer cell lines. The Seneca Valley Virus was more effective at killing the lung and eye cancer cell lines than the normal cells, and the virus was not inhibited in the blood. Among mice treated with the virus, there was a complete response in all the mice with lung cancer tumors and in the majority of those with eye cancer tumors. "The data in this report suggest that [the Seneca Valley Virus] may overcome many of the challenges faced by traditional therapies and other [cancer-killing] viruses," the authors write. This research was published October 30, 2007 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute” (Cancer-Killing Virus Shows Promise as Metastatic Cancer Treatment)
“New findings show that a specialized virus with the ability to reproduce its tumor-killing genes can selectively target tumors in the brains of mice and eliminate them. Healthy brain tissue remained virtually untouched, according to a Feb. 20 report in The Journal of Neuroscience. With more research, the technique could one day offer a novel way of treating brain cancer in humans. "Most importantly, this study finds that the virus can penetrate into the brain, where it even reaches cells that have migrated away from the main tumor,"
The virus did not target normal mouse tissue or non-cancerous human brain cells transplanted into the mouse brain, the team found. They speculated that, unlike those in healthy brain tissue, blood vessels within brain tumors may leak, allowing the virus to cross the usually impenetrable protective barrier around the brain. The virus was equally effective in destroying tissue from cancers that start in the breast or lung and spread to the brain--the two cancers most likely to metastasize to the brain--and targeted tumors at different sites throughout the body. Each year in the United States, more than 20,000 new cases of brain or nervous system cancers are diagnosed, according to the National Cancer Institute” (Cancer-Killing Virus Shows Promise as Metastatic Cancer Treatment).
Going past the direct medical applications of viruses, research being done on many viruses can direct us to new cures and methods of viral engineering, and overall lead to a better society. “The researchers solved the three-dimensional structure of the virus particle, which is only 0.0001 mm in diameter, using electron tomography and computational methods. The newly determined virus structure also serves as a model for the other bunyaviruses” (Science Daily). These bunyaviruses are negatively stranded RNA viruses that can occasionally affect humans. “Recent research surprisingly revealed that the viral membrane proteins protruding as spikes from the Uukuniemi virus surface changed their shape in an acidic environment. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the mechanism whereby influenza and dengue viruses enter their host cells. The observation helps to explain how bunyaviruses infect their host cells.
The Uukuniemi virus was first isolated in the village of Uukuniemi, Finland in the early '60s. Since then, it has proven to be an excellent model virus. Not being a human pathogen, the Uukuniemi virus is safe to work with, and yet it is very similar to many pathogenic bunyaviruses. The Bunyaviridae viral family comprises more than 300 members and they are found worldwide. Many members of the family cause serious disease, such as hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis, for which no vaccines are available yet. Most of the bunyaviruses are transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks. The exception is hantaviruses, which belong to the Bunyaviridae family, and which are spread by voles and other rodents. The findings were published in PNAS on 12 February, 2008” (Uukuniemi Virus Helps To Explain The Infection Mechanism Of Bunyaviruses).
Studies on viruses can also shed some light on the viruses of the past and note how they have developed over the years. As history is integral in knowing the future, a virus’s history is important in knowing how it will mutate and change in the future. “In the study researchers from Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, and the University of Leuven, Belgium analyzed skin swabs taken from the lesions of infected WWBs and identified a novel virus exhibiting properties of both the Papillomaviridae and Polyomaviridae family. They have designated this new prototype the bandicoot papillomatosis carcinomatosis virus type 1 (BPCV1). BPCV1 may represent the first member of a novel virus family, descended from a common ancestor of the papillomaviruses and polyomaviruses recognized today," say the researchers. "The discovery of the virus could have implications for the current taxonomic classification of Papillomaviridae and Polyomaviridae and can provide further insight into the evolution of these ancient virus families” (Novel Virus Identified In Endangered Species May Represent Evolution Of Two Major Virus Families)
Finally, developments in viruses have uncovered an interesting and disturbing trend that links obesity and a virus. “Scientists are reporting new evidence that infection with a common virus may be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic sweeping through the United States and other countries. In laboratory experiments they showed that infection with human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), long recognized as a cause of respiratory and eye infections in humans, transforms adult stem cells obtained from fat tissue into fat cells. Stem cells not exposed to the virus, in contrast, were unchanged. In addition, the study reported identification of a specific gene in the virus that appears to be involved in this obesity-promoting effect. The findings, which could lead to a vaccine or antiviral medication to help fight viral obesity in the future, were presented at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. "We’re not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections," says study presenter Magdalena Pasarica, M.D., Ph.D., of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University” (Common Virus May Contribute To Obesity In Some People).
“Traditionally, such DNA insertions have been carried out using viruses that have a natural ability to penetrate the cell and insert segments of DNA into the nucleus. But these viruses can sometimes have dangerous side effects, and have been responsible for deaths in some early gene-therapy trials.
"We're working on polymers that could deliver DNA as efficiently as viruses, that could put a DNA strand wherever you want, without the safety problems of viruses," Langer says. In addition, they could be cheaper and easier to manufacture” (Biomedical Engineering Challenges Of The Next Century) This is what the future can bring regarding viruses and nanotechnology, however with every benefit there is a downfall, and now we will outline the pitfalls in viral technology.
The new realities of terrorism and suicide bombers pull us one step further. How would we react to the devastation caused by a virus or bacterium or other pathogen unleashed not by the forces of nature, but intentionally by man?
No intelligence agency, no matter how astute, and no military, no matter how powerful and dedicated, can assure that a small terrorist group using readily available equipment in a small and apparently innocuous setting cannot mount a first-order biological attack. With the rapid advancements in technology, we are rapidly moving from having to worry about state-based biological programs to smaller terrorist-based biological programs.
There are dark rumors of other super-chimeras as well. In particular, it's believed that both the Russians and the Americans have veePox: a combination of smallpox and Venezuelan encephalitis. This chimera is believed to combine the pathogenic qualities of both viruses, thus rendering it universally fatal. What happens if such a virus were to escape by accident? What happens if a terrorist group gets such a virus and sprays it on a major city?
As a result new viruses such as HIV and Ebola appeared, for which there was no cure. In addition, old diseases silently evolved resistance to drugs and became more menacing. This evolution was greatly aided by over-prescription of antibiotics by physicians and the increasingly compromised immune systems in individuals, providing millions of ideal genetic recombination labs for mutating viruses and bacteria. Very quickly mankind's defenses against disease began to weaken. For example, quinine is now totally ineffective against malaria - as are a host of other drugs that once provided protection. There exists in the world today un-treatable malaria, a situation not seen in two centuries
A virus with all it's parts labeled
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11113258